Generations of Women in Crisis - A Call for Help!

A new report " Women Like Me: Supporting Wellbeing in Girls and Women" carried out by Platform 51, formerly the YWCA, reveals that three-in-five (63 percent) of girls and women, have been affected by mental health problems in England and Wales.  That is the equivalent of 15.2 million girls and women.  Girls and women are almost twice as likely as boys and men to suffer from depression and almost one third have taken anti depressants.   

The research includes national polling conducted by Opinium LLP and focus groups with Platform 51 service users.  The researchers carried out a nationally representative survey of 2,000 girls and women aged 12 and over in England and Wales.  It found that generations of women experience low-level mental health problems that negatively impacts their lives and hinders their potential.  This may include depression, stress, low self esteem, self harm and suicidal thoughts.

The report states, that these mental health issues are often triggered by traumatic events such as, emotional and physical abuse, relationship breakdown, bereavement, unemployment and debt.  However, the study indicates that many women, who are experiencing or have experienced difficult situations, may appear to be functioning normally and coping adequately, when in reality they are struggling. 

Mental health problems can have a profound impact on women’s lives and can also be detrimental for their families, their colleagues and the wider society.  Statistics show that 44 percent of women with mental health problems took time off work, with one in four taking off at least a week a year.  Isolation from friends and family was shown to be a common behaviour with 48 percent staying in bed or at home and as a result more than a quarter (28 percent) had lost friends.  In addition, 27 percent admitted to regularly drinking in order to get drunk and one in five (21 percent) had built up debt. 

Although mental health issues in girls and women is not a new concept, evidence from a 2009 NHS report demonstrates that women's mental health is worsening.  Therefore, as the report identifies, the current approach is not working and more needs to be done to address the problem. 

The group called on ministers to review the “over-reliance” on anti-depressant drugs to treat mild and moderate mental health problems and to make counseling and psychotherapy more easily available to women.   

Penny Newman, Platform 51's chief executive, said:
"Millions of girls and women are not getting the support they need. Women are often the linchpins of their families and their communities, and if three in five of them aren't functioning at their best they lose out, their family and friends lose out and so does wider society.
"Working with girls and women every day for over 150 years we have seen time and time again how often mental health can hold women back.
"Policy-makers need to act now to address this unseen crisis in women's mental health and provide a range of effective interventions. We must put an end to the dependency culture that has built up around prescription drugs, giving women more choice and control over the support they receive.”

International Women’s Day is on the 8^th March this year and the RSPH are running a Programme on Women’s Health and Well-being.  The event will raise awareness of interrelationship between lifestyle and health, while educating participants about the steps they can take to empower women to improve their physical and mental health.  For further information or to attend the programme please contact Nicolette Smith or by phone 020 3177 1625.